Opinion

Op-Ed: ‘Ideal female form’? Give me a break

By Nicole Galietta

Posted on Feb. 23, 2009, at 12:00 a.m.

Don’t judge a book by its cover – apparently this cliche rule doesn’t apply to magazines such as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Apparently, it doesn’t apply to women, either.

Michael W. Gibson’s accidentally tragicomic “Bikini Models Show Ideal Female Form” (Feb. 19, 2009) forced me to simultaneously laugh and choke up a little bile. I chuckled at the exclamatory sentences condoning unabashed sexism and nearly gagged on my own involuntary vomit in an attempt to swallow its ideology. Instead, I should’ve wept at its stupidity. I’m indignant on behalf of women, the great guys I know who would never think this way – let alone write it – and other girls who may not belong to any specific feminist group, but believe our country has come too far to regress enough to validate this viewpoint.

The opening line’s expressed adoration for freedom of speech translates to an obvious love for freedom from the constraints of intellectualism, evidenced in statements like “The aesthetic value the pages of SI offer to us are invaluable. They show us the ideal female form – the form no man can look away from and all females should aspire to be.”

Modeling irks me. The concept of strictly physical beauty annoys me greatly. But actually telling me, a reader with the great misfortune of being female, how to reach my supposed ultimate goal of superficial perfection is just plain infuriating. A close reading – yes, girls are capable of reading; some even enjoy it – informed me there’s nothing more “fulfilling” than sculpting my body for fashion’s sake; no one cares about SAT scores, as “that’s not the point,” and that I should not be shy in studying models in order to emulate them.

I especially liked the description of ideal women who “show us their abundant health, their fertility, heredity potential and their exquisitely adapted traits,” but sound more like purebred pets than people. Statements based on one sense out of five – sight – completely ignore all the others, including “common,” which in this instance is definitely not employed. This voyeuristic attitude is why we, as a society, have lost all sense of dignity and decency.

Instead of poring over the latest Sports Illustrated – aptly named only if misogyny is considered a sport – perhaps certain juveniles could “even channel these raging hormones into success in school” by doing something relevant, like reading Plato and other dead Greek guys, so they won’t be overshadowed by successful “females in their ugliest forms.”

Personally, I refuse to cater to someone else’s vanity. I’ll continue to roll out of bed for class wearing my baggiest sweatpants and unfitted T-shirts, won’t waste time worrying if I look sexy enough for some random guy walking to Little Hall. I won’t lose sleep wondering if “he’s just not that into me,” or change who I am to conform for someone else. Women are real people. The instant looks are worshipped is when they become as cheap, worthless and disposable as the vapid reality shows about them. There’s a reason it’s called “plastic surgery” – it’s unrealistic and should be recognized as such.

Next time it’s tempting to glorify or undermine a woman for her appearance, look in the mirror and notice that superficiality is ugly. Real ugly.

Nicole Galietta is a senior English student.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.